Hope
by Emme019
Summary: One-shot. Katniss and Finnick have a talk about Johanna, Peeta and Annie (mainly about Johanna). Takes place during Mockingjay.


**A/N: Here's another one-shot. I'm not exactly pleased with it but I have just found it on my computer (I've written it last July I think) and figured maybe one of you guys like it. So, here it is. I really hope you like it more than I do.**

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"_Jo?"_

_I try desperately to keep my voice down but the dark-haired girl lying next to me is just not going to wake up unless there's a canon announcing another death. I nudge her softly and see her eyebrows twitch. She's just refusing to wake up. Typical._

"_Jo!" I try again, this time I whisper a little louder._

_Two brown eyes peer through thick eyelashes. _

"_What?" _

_I grin. "How do you do that?"_

_She shoots me a questioning look._

"_Make a whisper sound so murderous?" _

_She shrugs and closes her eyes again, ready to drift off to sleep._

"_Jo?"_

_Her hands fly to her ears, covering them to shut out my voice._

"_I don't want to hear it Finn!" she whispers, using the same tone as last time._

_I move a little closer to her so Katniss or Peeta won't hear us talking and grab her wrists to take her hands off her ears._

"_You don't even know what I was going to say!"_

"_Yes I do!"_

"_Then what was I going to say, genius?"_

_She turns her head so she faces me completely._

"_You were going to talk to me about earlier, with the jabberjays. Am I right?"_

_She is right. And judging by the look that's probably on my face, she can tell she's right as well._

"_See? I really am a genius", she says, "Can I go back to sleep now?"_

_Already closing her eyes, I interrupt her. "No, you cannot. I want to know…"_

_Her eyes fly open again, shooting fireballs in my direction. "You want to know what?"_

_I sigh. "Why did you say that? That there's no one left you love anymore?"_

"_Because it's the truth?"_

_I expected words like this but I never expected them to hurt this much. And hurt they do. _

_Apparently, the hurt must be visible in my eyes or my body language because the expression on her face softens and her fingers intertwine with mine._

"_Don't," she says. "The more you care, the more you get hurt."_

_And at this moment, I know what she means. Unfortunately, my realization comas too late. Because she saw the pain her words caused me, she showed everyone she actually did care about me. Her secret. I never knew why she wanted to keep our friendship hidden but now I do. The gamemakers would use it against us. And because I discovered this too late, she had to show everybody how vulnerable she really is. Beneath that hard, cold exterior she's a girl who is afraid to get hurt, afraid to die. Because of my stupidity, she's going to get hurt a lot more. I gave the Capitol the weapon they need to destroy Johanna Mason. _

Katniss takes my hand in hers after I've finished my story.

"And here I was, thinking you only cared about yourself and Annie." she says.

I look up to her, trying to blink away the tears that are starting to form in my eyes.

She continues. "But you care about Johanna too. You two make an odd pair. There was a moment in the arena where I thought there had to be more, that you had to be more than just two Victors."

I squeeze her hand so hard I'm afraid I might break it but she doesn't even flinch.

"It's my fault," I say, "They are torturing her and I gave them a weapon. I'm the one that's hurting her, Katniss! Annie is pretty safe, she can go to her own little place in her head where nothing can reach her but Johanna… She has too much life in her. Katniss…I'm afraid they might not come back. Annie's my love but Johanna is my best friend. Even if Annie comes back, I won't be the same if Johanna doesn't. Imagine life with Peeta but without Gale, knowing he's dead. What if he didn't come back? What if one of them doesn't come back?"

She unclasps her hand from mine and pulls me into a hug.

"They will come back. They have to. All of them. Annie and Peeta. And Johanna as well." Katniss says, her voice muffled by my sweater. "Johanna's probably already planning a massive escape, just to piss them all off."

I laugh and Katniss joins me. As long as we don't lose hope, they will come back to us. All of them.


End file.
